MMW polarimetric data base of terrain reflectivity and an associated image simulator

SPRI, the Simulator of Polarimetric Radar Images, is a suite of PCI image processing programs which together can be used to simulate millimetre wave (MMW) radar images of terrain. SPRI is intended to produce images similar to existing imagery but with one or more significant changes to facilitate comparisons. These significant changes include radar frequency, angle of incidence, season of year, recent precipitation, etc. The heart of the simulator package is a scattering matrix generator which calls upon a data base of measured Mueller matrices of terrain. This generator program produces high-resolution single-look polarimetric images. Simulated images can be degraded in polarization, number of looks, resolution, etc. to match those of a particular radar sensor. Auxiliary programs have been written to help adapt existing images to the frequency and incidence angle desired. For example, a sub-suite of programs classifies shadows and manipulates them for incidence angle changes. The simulator relies upon a data base of over 2500 Mueller matrices measured at 35 and 95 GHz by instrumentation grade scatterometers. The data are organized by frequency, incidence angle, and terrain type, and are accompanied by extensive ground truth. This data base is a research tool in its own right, and as such has a password-protected Web interface